Autopsy of RFK Jr's wife finds antidepressants but no alcohol

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The estranged wife of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had three antidepressants but no alcohol in her system when she committed suicide in May, a New York medical examiner’s office said on Saturday.

Mary Kennedy's casket is carried out of St. Patrick's Church by family, including her estranged husband Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (2nd R) after her funeral service concluded in Bedford May 19, 2012. Mary Kennedy, who died in an apparent suicide earlier this week, was recalled Saturday as an "angel" who was ultimately overwhelmed by a lengthy fight with depression. REUTERS/Michelle McLoughlin

Results of toxicology tests completed in June revealed that Mary Kennedy, 52, had the antidepressants Trazodone, Desmethylvenlafaxine and Venlafaxine in her blood when she died, a representative of the Westchester County Office of the Medical Examiner said. There was no alcohol found, the report said.

Her family could not be immediately reached for comment.

Mary Kennedy, who has been described by friends and relatives as having long struggled with depression, was found hanging in a barn behind the family’s home in the New York City suburb of Bedford on May 16.

The cause of death was ruled as asphyxiation by hanging and the manner of death was suicide, according to her autopsy.

Mary Kennedy had four children with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a lawyer and environmentalist and the son of the late Senator Robert F. Kennedy and nephew of the late President John F. Kennedy. The couple filed for divorce in 2010, but it had not been finalized.

Her death was the latest tragedy to strike the Kennedy family. President Kennedy was assassinated in 1963 and his brother, Robert, suffered the same fate five years later. JFK’s son, John F. Kennedy Jr., died in a 1999 plane crash along with his wife and sister-in-law.

Two of RFK’s sons died unexpectedly - David Kennedy of a drug overdose in 1984 and Michael Kennedy in a 1999 skiing accident.